When it comes to evolving Basculin in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask, you’ll need more than just patience-this evolution requires calculated risk. Discover how to turn the elusive White-Striped Basculin of Kitakami’s Timeless Woods into the formidable Basculegion by surviving hundreds of points of self-inflicted damage without fainting-a process that’s as tense as it is rewarding for any dedicated trainer.
Where to find White-Striped Basculin in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
White-Striped Basculin can only be found in one location in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask DLC-specifically, in the Timeless Woods area of Kitakami. To locate it, head to the Timeless Woods in the northeast corner of Kitakami and look for a pond on the western side of the woods. Basculin appears swimming on the surface of the water, but it can be rare, so you may need to wander around or reset the spawns by leaving and re-entering the area until one appears. Only the White-Striped form found here can evolve into Basculegion, so be sure to catch this specific variant.
You can find White-Striped Basculin in The Timeless Woods in Kitakami. The Basculin we caught in Timeless Woods was level 73, making its evolution process pretty easy – though your Basculin may be at a lower level depending on how far you are in the base game before coming to Kitakami.
How to evolve Basculin into Basculegion
To evolve Basculin into Basculegion in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask, you must first catch a White-Striped Basculin, which can be found in the pond within the western part of the Timeless Woods in the Kitakami region-only this form is eligible for evolution. Next, have your Basculin take at least 294 points of recoil damage using moves like Wave Crash, Double-Edge, Take Down, or Head Smash, but make sure it does not faint during the process; you can heal Basculin between battles to help manage its HP. Once the recoil damage threshold is met, simply level up Basculin-either through battle or by using items like Rare Candy-and it will evolve into Basculegion.
The evolution method is unchanged from Pokémon Legends: Arceus: Your Basculin has to take 294 damage or more in recoil damage without fainting (but you can heal between fights). After doing this, just level them up (through natural means or with candy) to evolve them.
Basculin learns three different moves that cause recoil: Take Down at level 36, Wave Crash at level 44, and Double-Edge at level 52.
To complete this, we recommend taking your Basculin to an area with Pokémon roughly 20 to 30 levels below it. (For our level 73 Basculin, we took it to Casseroya Lake in Paldea.) Spam any of the three moves against everything in sight, but make sure to heal so your Basculin doesn’t faint.
Keep tabs on how much damage your Basculin took from recoil by using a notepad (digital or real) so you don’t lose track.
How can I intentionally damage Basculin without risking fainting in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Safely Damaging Basculin for Evolution
To evolve Basculin into Basculegion in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, you need Basculin to take at least 294 points of recoil damage from its own moves without fainting before leveling up. Here’s how to intentionally damage Basculin while minimizing the risk of it fainting:
Recommended Strategies:
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Use recoil moves like Double-Edge, Head Smash, Take Down, or Wave Crash against wild Pokémon. Each of these moves inflicts recoil damage on Basculin, but the amount varies:
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Take Down: ¼ of damage dealt as recoil
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Double-Edge: ⅓ of damage dealt as recoil
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Head Smash: ½ of damage dealt as recoil
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After each attack, immediately heal Basculin using Potions, healing items, or by returning to a Pokémon Center to prevent it from fainting.
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Consider giving Basculin a health-restoring berry (like Sitrus Berry) to help it recover HP automatically if it drops too low.
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Use the move Rest, if available, to restore Basculin’s HP during the process.
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Keep a close eye on Basculin’s HP and the cumulative recoil damage. Avoid attacking if its HP is too low to survive the next recoil hit.
By carefully alternating between using recoil moves and healing, you can safely reach the required 294 recoil damage without risking Basculin fainting and resetting your progress. This approach is especially useful for players focused on evolving rare Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet.
What moves cause recoil damage without fainting my Basculin in Scarlet and Violet
Recoil Moves for Basculin in Scarlet and Violet
To safely accumulate recoil damage for evolving Basculin into Basculegion, use the following moves that Basculin learns and cause recoil without causing it to faint if you heal regularly:
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Take Down (learned at level 36): Deals 25% of the damage inflicted as recoil.
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Wave Crash (learned at level 44): Deals significant recoil damage, typically about 33% of the damage inflicted.
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Double-Edge (learned at level 52): Deals 33% of the damage inflicted as recoil.
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Head Smash: Deals 50% of the damage inflicted as recoil, so use with extra caution and heal frequently.
After each use, heal Basculin with Potions, Berries, or by visiting a Pokémon Center to prevent it from fainting, as fainting will reset the recoil counter. This approach allows you to safely reach the required 294 recoil damage for evolution while minimizing risk.
